Market for lithium-ion batteries, utilized for example in electric cars and other electric equipment, is growing at an impressive annual rate of 20 percent. Due to increasing demand, a vital raw material for these batteries, lithium, is possibly one of the most valuable minerals in the foreseeable future. But what is the best place to look for the “white petroleum”?

Mining companies now need to determine how to operate in a market that is characterized by rising stakeholder demands, a widening talent gap, as well as dwindling access to key inputs such as energy and water, says Deloitte in its latest annual report.